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Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells addresses the media Friday at the Tim Curry Justice Center about a global scam directed at senior citizens.<\/p>\n
Michael Cuviello\/Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells speaks during a news conference Friday at the Tim Curry Justice Center in Fort Worth flanked by other law enforcement agencies involved in a\u00a0 fraud investigation.<\/p>\n
Michael Cuviello\/Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
FORT WORTH \u2014 A global fraud scheme that has drained millions from older adults \u2014 including about a dozen victims in Tarrant County \u2014 has led to 18 indictments, authorities said.<\/p>\n
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Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells announced the charges during a news conference Friday morning, where he was joined by local, state and federal law enforcement partners involved in the investigation.<\/p>\n
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Sorrells said investigators have identified roughly 130 victims nationwide, though officials believe the true number is significantly higher.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have lost everything,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t be the next victim.\u201d<\/p>\n
Authorities say the operation, which has been active since at least 2018, begins with phone calls from\u00a0scammers posing as bank officials or government agents. Victims are told their accounts or personal information have been compromised and are pressured to act quickly to \u201cprotect\u201d their assets.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Investigators said many of the calls originate from overseas call centers, primarily in India.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Once victims are convinced, they are instructed to withdraw large sums of money or convert their savings into gold, cash or\u00a0cryptocurrency. In some cases, victims are coached on what to tell bank employees or family members to avoid raising suspicion.<\/p>\n Couriers \u2014 sometimes impersonating federal agents \u2014 are then sent to collect the assets in person.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce handed over, the money is gone,\u201d\u00a0Sorrells said.<\/p>\n Authorities described the scheme as a layered criminal network involving couriers, intermediaries and businesses that melt down gold and move it overseas for resale.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In recent months, investigators have seized more than $130 million in gold tied to the network. One Texas victim lost more than $2 million, according to\u00a0Sorrells.<\/p>\n The case reflects a broader pattern of scams targeting seniors across the United States. Similar schemes have involved criminals posing as government agents or bank representatives to pressure victims into transferring money through wire transfers, gift cards or\u00a0cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n Officials said the shift to gold marks an evolution in those tactics because it can be melted down, transported and resold with little traceability.<\/p>\n The investigation includes coordination with the Texas Department of Public Safety, Collin County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, U.S. Treasury Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and police departments in Allen, North\u00a0Richland Hills and Bedford.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Sorrells said the scam disproportionately targets seniors, who are more likely to answer unknown calls and trust the caller.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re trusting, they\u2019re easily frightened, and frankly, they answer the phone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Sorrells urged residents to immediately hang up if they receive a suspicious call and not engage with the caller.<\/p>\n He emphasized that law enforcement agencies will never ask for money, gold or\u00a0cryptocurrency over the phone.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you receive a call claiming your accounts are compromised, it is a lie,\u201d\u00a0Sorrells said. \u201cDo not withdraw money. Do not hand anything over.\u201d<\/p>\n Sorrells advised residents to contact their bank directly using the number on their bank card \u2014 not a number provided by the caller \u2014 and to report any suspected scam immediately to law enforcement.<\/p>\n Officials said the investigation remains ongoing, and additional indictments are expected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells addresses the media Friday at the Tim Curry Justice Center about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[732,27,29,28,88643,99169,99168,89217],"class_list":["post-264851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-article","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-tp-fort-worth","tag-tp-fraud","tag-tp-money","tag-tp-tarrant-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775016909_917_rawImage.jpg\" "\\"#\\"")
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